Shloka 17
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
मृतस्य दशरात्रेण प्रायश्चित्तानि दापयेत् सावित्री रैवतीमिष्टिं कृूष्माण्डमघमर्षणम्
mṛtasya daśarātreṇa prāyaścittāni dāpayet | sāvitrīṃ raivatīm iṣṭiṃ kūṣmāṇḍam aghamarṣaṇam ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Si, durante los diez días de impureza que siguen a una muerte, una persona come en casa ajena, debe hacérsele cumplir expiaciones. El remedio es la recitación del mantra Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī), el rito Raivatī, la iṣṭi purificatoria (ofrenda sacrificial), la fórmula Kūṣmāṇḍa y el himno Aghamarṣaṇa; así se limpia la falta y se restablece la corrección ritual y ética».
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that violations committed during the sensitive period of death-impurity (maraṇa-āśauca) require deliberate expiation. Dharma is maintained not only by avoiding improper conduct but also by restoring purity through prescribed mantra-recitation and rites when a lapse occurs.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma lays down a specific rule: if someone eats food while under the ten-day death-impurity connected with another household, he should undertake named purificatory recitations/rites—Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī), Raivatī, an iṣṭi, Kūṣmāṇḍa, and Aghamarṣaṇa—to remove the fault.